The 38-mile Landon Nature Trail, stretching from Topeka to the Flint Hills Nature Trail, received a $25,000 donation this week from a Swiss billionaire and conservationist, said Clark Coan, director of the Kanza Rail-Trails Conservancy.

The billionaire, Hansjörg Wyss, has promised more than half his fortune to the preservation of the American West, Coan, of Lawrence, said.

The Landon Nature Trail is a recreational area for people to walk, run, bike and ride horses. The area provides both a scenic and historic taste of Kansas wildlife.

The donation will largely go toward a portion of the trail reaching from Tecumseh Road to the Wakarusa River Bridge in the Clinton Wildlife Area, Coan said. The area needs limestone screenings, which are a type of gravel substitute, and additional work on the bridge.

While the conservancy has received several large donations, Coan said more work remains before the Landon Nature Trail is complete.

“We’ve still got about 25 miles left on the trail after this section is done,” he said. “It’s going to take a lot of money and a lot of volunteer labor.”

To put the work into perspective, Coan said each mile of the trail costs around $25,000 to complete.

Landon Nature Trail Supervisor Jim Burks said the conservancy will continue to seek out more donations and volunteer labor for the trail.

“It’s an ongoing deal; we’re trying to get as far as we can,” he said.

In the meantime many people are already enjoying the trail and the natural refuge it provides, Burks said.

“People use it to walk and exercise; it’s all recreational,” he said. “It’s just a lot more primitive out there, a lot of different scenery.”